


Asphyxiation

by shepardly



Series: Whumptober Prompts [4]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Blood, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prompt Fill, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 01:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20666927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shepardly/pseuds/shepardly
Summary: Scott and his team are back safe from their day out in the Kadara wilds, but trouble has a way of finding them.





	Asphyxiation

*

Reyes threw his datapad on the table and passed a hand over his weary eyes, trying to ease the ache that was starting behind them. He glanced at his omnitool; he was due to meet Scott soon, and it wouldn’t do to start _that_ appointment with a headache. He reached for the half empty bottle on the table, thought better of it, and grabbed his water bottle instead, chugging it down as he headed for the door of his private room. He tossed the empty reusable bottle onto the couch as he left and locked the door behind him, before winding his way through the crowd that was already gathering for the evening's festivities and headed out the upper level door.

Roaring engines caught his attention almost immediately upon exiting, and Reyes wandered over to the edge of the balcony to watch the Nomad race into view and screech to a halt not far from the gate house. Vetra, Drack, and the Pathfinder all spilled out of the six wheeled vehicle, talking and laughing about something that he couldn’t quite make out at this distance. 

Reyes settled more comfortably against the railing, a fond smile twitching at the corner of his mouth as he watched them make their way towards the gate. They must have had a good day, as everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Scott spun on a heel and walked backwards a few steps, waving his helmet that he carried and talking animatedly about something with Vetra, when a shot cracked the air.

Reyes stiffened, grasping the railing under his hands as he instinctively ducked a bit even as he frantically searched for the source of the shot and where it had been directed. His heart nearly stopped when he heard Drack let out an angry battle yell and Vetra shout something urgently, and he looked down again to see Scott slowly begin to topple over backwards onto the ground.

_Sniper._

Reyes had his omnitool keyed up without thought, but the voice on the other end of the line didn’t sink in right away.

“Listen, I have patients here; I don’t have time for this.”

“Nakamoto,” Reyes finally spoke, awareness snapping back, “shots fired at the gate. It’s the Pathfinder.”

He cut the line and vaulted the railing, rolling as he hit the ground and running for the fence. Vetra was crouched over Ryder, gun ready even as she reached for the Pathfinder, talons scrambling on his armour, and Drack stood in front of them both as a krogan shield, uncharacteristically not running off to face the enemy for once. Another shot pinged off the ground near them, and Drack let out another wordless roar just as Vetra got a good grasp on Ryder and bodily hauled him up into her arms. Reyes could see Scott’s limbs moving, but the movement could only be described as spasmodic.

“_Nyx!_” Reyes shouted, and he saw her head jerk towards him and he gestured wildly. She sprinted towards him and leapt over the fence in a single bound with the help of her jump jets to land beside him, and they ran behind the nearby shelter of the cave wall, under the balcony.

Vetra laid Ryder out on the ground, and Reyes nearly panicked.

Scott weakly coughed with a burst of blood, his eyes wide but unfocused. Crimson decorated the front of his armour where it had been torn open by a bullet, and more spilled down his chin the more he coughed and choked. He shakily pawed at his chest, wheezing, and Reyes fumbled with the clasps of his armour before taking the chest piece off and clamping his hands over the alarming wound there. Lung shot, without a doubt. 

“Scott, look at me, stay with me, Scott.” Reyes pleaded, trying not to think about the torn flesh he could feel under his hands. “SAM!”

“The Pathfinder requires immediate medical attention.” SAM announced unnecessarily. “I’ve alerted the Tempest, and am attempting to stabilize his condition. Please continue to apply firm pressure, Mr Vidal.”

Reyes tightened his grip just a fraction, and Scott let out a choked whimper, fumbling hands reaching up to join his over the wound. His breathing was strained, short, wheezing sips of air as the cords of his neck stood out from the effort. Reyes could feel his heart racing under his hands. He tried not to think about the ever widening puddle of blood under his knees.

“Just hang on, Scott.” Reyes heard himself say again. Scott’s eyelids fluttered, and his gaze seemed to turn to Reyes, but he still had a thousand yard stare, seeming to look right through him as he choked and sputtered on another mouthful of blood. The strained breathing suddenly stopped, and Scott spasmed helplessly. His face was bloodless, his lips darkening to a grey hue. He wasn’t _breathing._

Reyes couldn’t remember the last time he had prayed, but he was pretty sure he was praying right now, words falling unheard from his lips.

Firm hands on his shoulders caused Reyes to hunch defensively with a startled snarl, refusing to let up the pressure from the wound, still mindlessly pleading with Scott to _breathe_. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Scott’s eyes were closed now, his fingers weakly twitching against the back of his hands. He was _dying_, drowning in his own blood. Reyes had never felt so helpless. 

“We’ve got him, Vidal, let Lexi work!” Someone shouted, and Reyes blinked as an asari got into his space, running a scan and talking to SAM. She said something to him, her voice calm and soothing, and although he had never met her he realized thanks to Scott he knew who she was, and let her pry his hands away from the wound.

Reyes was gently pushed and pulled back, until he couldn’t see Scott anymore. A nervous, restless energy seized in his chest, and he wanted to wring his hands and only just barely managed to prevent himself from doing so. His omnitool signalled an incoming call, and he sent it to his earpiece automatically, without thought.

“There’s a drone streaming live footage to the feeds.” Keema said without preamble. “You should get out of there, before someone st-”

Reyes cursed, sharply and not in a language he spoke often anymore before hanging up abruptly. He heard Scott suddenly take a lungful of a wheezing breath, and there was a bit of a commotion as he thrashed on the ground, swinging one arm out wildly. Still, Reyes couldn’t get any closer, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from what little of Scott he could see amongst the bodies around him. Another strained gasp for air, followed by a short, sharp cry that sounded more like a whimper.

As much as it pained Reyes to hear it, he couldn’t help but be relieved at the sound of life. 

Eventually, they loaded Scott onto a stretcher and Reyes caught a better glimpse of him. He looked awful; ashen and crimson in armour that was only partially stripped off against sterile white, but he was breathing again, even if it was just strained wheezes behind an oxygen mask. The doctor— Lexi, he remembered now— started pushing the stretcher towards the elevator, barking orders. Reyes’ feet started moving of their own accord, falling into step to follow, but a heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he turned to see Liam give him a firm shake of the head. He watched Cora pretend not to see as she followed Lexi and the stretcher as they left. Liam’s eyes weren’t unkind, but it still stung.

Reyes swallowed his protests, and gave Liam a short nod instead. Scott couldn’t afford any delays right now, however minor, and Liam ran after them to catch up.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but he started when someone touched his elbow and he turned to see Dr Nakamoto standing there, looking at him with an inquiring eyebrow raised as he looked Reyes over. Reyes looked down at himself and realized he had blood almost up to his elbows, already starting to dry and flake. 

“I’m fine.” He said as Nakamoto pulled his scanner out. “It’s not mine.”

“Indulge me.” Nakamoto said dryly, consulting the scanner for a moment before putting it away again. “Is there someone waiting for you?”

Reyes thought of Keema, likely impatiently waiting in the throne room for news. “Yes.”

“Good. Ask them to stay with you for a bit. Go get cleaned up, drink something warm, and rest. _No_ alcohol.”

Reyes huffed. “Yes, Doctor.”

The elevator was long gone and a crowd was starting to gather and a few were giving them curious looks. Remembering that he was alarmingly covered in blood, he realized he needed to leave before he caused more of a scene and people started asking questions, just like Keema had suggested in the first place.

***

Reyes spent the next twenty hours feeling like he was holding his breath. He went home and showered, sent his clothes through the cleaning cycle, and after that thorough process he realized he had no more physical evidence of what had happened. All that was left was the emptiness in his chest that his racing heart and mind was attempting to process. He didn’t even try to sleep that night, throwing himself into mindless work instead, things that he had been meaning to get to for a while but hadn’t had the time for until now. The sun was rising as he was starting to flag, exhaustion setting in, but he still couldn’t sleep.

His omnitool pinged; incoming email.

_To: Reyes Vidal  
From: Cora Harper_

_He’s alive, and Lexi expects he’ll stay that way. Thought you should know._

The air escaped him in a rush, a sob catching at his throat, the surge of emotion startling. He was glad he was alone. He read the short email again, assuring himself of the words, and dismissed it before sitting down and burying his face in his hands.

Keema found him there an hour later, curled up in his chair, passed out from exhaustion. She didn’t say anything about his red rimmed eyes when he woke up, and he doesn’t mention the blanket he found draped over him, but they come to a mutual agreement to busy themselves with their work for the day.

***

Two days later, Reyes’ omnitool notified him of a video call from the Tempest. His heart nearly stuttered in his chest as he stared at it, and Keema waved him away with a roll of her eyes, but he saw the concern there as well. He hadn’t heard anything more from Cora or Scott or anyone else since the incident, but no news had come from the Nexus about a dead human Pathfinder, so Reyes had held out hope.

He wanted to believe it was Scott on the other end of the call, and dreaded the news if it wasn’t.

“Go on, then, answer it!” Keema said in mock annoyance. Reyes stiffly— hesitantly— nodded, but excused himself from their war room and locked himself into one of the side storage rooms before answering.

It took a moment for it to connect, but when the image of a pale but weakly grinning Scott propped up on pillows came up on the screen, Reyes felt his knees nearly give out in relief.

“Hey, Reyes.” Scott’s voice was weak, and he kept a protective or self-conscious hand laid over the heavy bandages on his chest. “Sorry I didn’t call sooner, hurt to talk until now.”

“Scott! Are you alright? Are you sure you should be talking then?” Reyes couldn’t help the outburst, worry bubbling up. Scott still looked rough, shirtless and laid out against his pillows like it was all he could do to stay upright for even this much, and he had pulled his oxygen mask down so it sat around his neck. He was too pale, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept since he had left Kadara port. The hand laid against his chest bore an IV, taped securely in place. Reyes found a crate to sit on, before his knees really did give out on him.

“I’m alright. Lexi patched me up. Still busted up a bit but,” Scott attempted to lift a shoulder in a shrug and winced, not giving much credence to his words. “SAM’s doing his part too. If I didn’t have him, I don’t think…”

His gaze went distant, looking somewhere past the camera. Reyes squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and when he opened them Scott was grinning lopsidedly at him again, looking tired and pale but alive and it was all Reyes could ask for.

“You’ll have to thank SAM for me.” Reyes said, trying to keep his voice light. “It was looking a little grim there.”

Scott snorted, but it was SAM who spoke next.

“I should be the one to thank you, Mr Vidal. I would not have been successful without the quick actions of yourself and Vetra Nyx.”

Reyes tried and failed not to remember how it had felt having Scott’s blood spilling over his hands.

“I’m sorry.” Scott blinked rapidly as his eyes watered, voice thick. “I saw the vids. I shouldn’t have taken my helmet off so soon, I might have seen the—”

“Scott,” Reyes interrupted him, gently. “Don’t apologize for things outside of your control.”

Scott took a shaky breath but nodded.

“Lexi thinks the shot came from high up.” He said eventually, instead. “They were probably on the tower by the lake. Tann wants to do a full investigation.”

“They _were_ on the tower.” Reyes sat back on the crate, keeping his tone remarkably even as he clenched his fist. “And tell Tann not to bother. It’s been handled.”

Scott looked a little wide-eyed at that, but he relaxed back with a nod after a moment, and Reyes thought he saw understanding in his eyes.

“Anyone I would know?” Scott half-heartedly joked, but Reyes appreciated the attempt.

“Likely. But I doubt it matters now.” Reyes shrugged easily. “They won’t be bothering you again. I made sure of it.”

“Ever the shady bastard.” Scott mused, still grinning fondly. Reyes looked at him carefully, noticing that he was looking even more tired, a faint flush rising on his cheeks. 

“C’mon, just tell me.” Scott wheedled. “I can check them off the list of people I have to watch my back for.”

“Hmm.” Reyes pretended to think about it. “A deal for you, Pathfinder. I’ll give you your information, but only in person.”

“Oh-ho,” Scott grinned, “I like the way you think, Captain Vidal.”

“I thought you might.” Reyes paused, just looking at him, drinking him in before speaking again. “You look tired, Scott. You should get some rest.”

Scott made a sound of annoyance, attempting to roll his eyes and succeeding maybe a little too well as his head lolled on the pillows. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but sleeping.”

“Mr Vidal is right, Scott. Your timed dose of pain medication has already released.”

That explained the flushed cheeks and head lolling, Reyes mused ruefully. The damage must have been fairly extensive to require that level of painkillers.

“Shit.” Scott mumbled, letting his hand drop from the bandage, revealing its stark, startling white in its entirety. “You were supposed to give me warning, SAM.”

“I did, Scott, on our private channel.”

“Oh.” Scott blinked blearily, and Reyes had to stifle a laugh. The human Pathfinder was well on his way to being well and truly stoned. “That’s what you were saying.”

“I should let you go,” Reyes started reluctantly.

“Miss you, Reyes.” Scott suddenly confessed, unexpectedly. “Lex says I woke up asking for you. I don’t really remember that part, but I was confused for a while trying to figure out why you weren’t here.”

“I’m sorry. Wish I was.” Reyes said softly. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Scott hummed, smiling drunkenly at him. “Me too. I’ll be back when I can. We’re headed back to the Nexus for now, Lex wants to check me into the Hyperion medbay until I’m back on my feet.” He wrinkled his nose up in disgust at this, but Reyes was glad that he had professionals looking after him.

“The better you listen to her, the faster you’ll be back for that information.”

Scott’s smile was back, although no less bleary than before. “Okay, _mom_.”

“No no, _Lexi_ is the mom, _I’m_ the concerned boyfriend.”

Scott actually _giggled_ at that, a sound that Reyes had only heard a handful of times and would go to great lengths to hear again. It was also, in this case, an indication of how far gone he was. Scott’s eyelids were drooping even more now, but he was still stubbornly clinging to consciousness for at least a couple minutes more.

“‘Love you, Reyes.” Scott murmured, and Reyes’ heart nearly stopped again. “Maybe shouldn’t say it with how stoned I’m feeling, but been meaning to say it for a while, now. Doesn’t feel so scary to say r’now.”

Reyes felt the back of his eyes prickle. He knew what Scott meant. The Pathfinder and the Charlatan. Two wildly different paths they were set on, paths that just kept crossing over and somehow making something that should have been a muddled mess beautiful. It seemed as though it should only end in disaster, but Reyes was either brave enough or foolish enough to want to keep letting those paths cross for the rest of his life.

Scary, indeed.

“I love you too, Scott.” Reyes finally managed, voice husky. “Keep writing me while you’re laid up, ok?”

“Mmhmm.” Scott managed with a weak grin. “‘Night, Reyes.”

“Good night, Scott.” Reyes said. “Sleep well.”

The call dropped, likely thanks to SAM’s intervention on behalf of Scott, and Reyes remained seated on his crate for a little longer, thinking.

Keema finally rousted him by banging on the door until he opened up, and dragged him out for a meal and drinks, calling it a well deserved extended break in their day. Reyes suspected she was more interested in Pathfinder gossip, but he only gave her the bare bones of information, if only to goad her teasingly. She seemed happy enough for him, anyway, and he got the impression that she had eavesdropped on at least part of the call. He wasn’t worried about it, however; Keema was the closest thing he had to a friend at this point in his career, and if he couldn’t trust her with something like this, he couldn’t trust her at all.

***

When the Tempest landed at the Kadara spaceport again nearly three weeks later, the docking area was conveniently and mostly empty of prying eyes except for the Charlatan’s most trusted people, thanks to some quiet arrangements that Keema had made without being asked. Reyes knew he owed her something particularly grand, especially when Scott walked off the ship ramp and into his waiting arms.

*


End file.
